The Ikon

14th January 2014

Today with a few members of my group we visited the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham to take a look at two local exhibitions, one by artist Tim Johnson entitled The Luminescent ground, the other by artist David Tremlett, 3 Drawing Rooms. We visited the Ikon in order to gain a insight into how a professional show is exhibited along with advertisement and press releases.

The Luminescent Ground 

This exhibition is by Australian artist Tim Johnson and took place in the first floor galleries. This exhibition mainly focused on wall based painting, however there were also a few video pieces. The exhibition mainly focused and immersed the viewer into the culture portrayed in the paintings. Johnson is heavily influenced by Buddhist theology and also ancient Chinese wall paintings. His exhibition at the Ikon displays Johnson's work throughout his career many pieces from the 1980's.

This image shows the entrance to the exhibition. It has a mixture of art mediums including large scale and a series of small scale paintings and so attracts the viewer due to the variation on colour and size. These paintings are a slightly different style to that of the paintings situated as you venture further into the exhibition. The entrance introduces the viewer to the exhibition and gives a general indicator to the style of artwork on display and in this case suggests culture. 

This image shows the space as you walk in to the main body of the exhibition. The majority of the pieces are large scale paintings that link to and compliment one another. Within this image I have captures a still of three very different styles of art work, two series of paintings- one with four large scale and the other numerous amounts of smaller paintings. There is also two small TVs showing a piece of video art.

This is the final stretch of the exhibition again with a mixture of art on display. The two monotone pieces contrast against the colourful piece in the far, the viewers eye is led around these paintings taking time to look through the glass panels at the series of piece. Each wall is filled with one large scale piece in order to give it space and also keep the viewer focused solely on the only painting within direct eye view.

  This exhibition introduces the viewer to Johnson's interest in culture which you seem to become immersed in as you walk around the show. This exhibition seems to encapsulate the viewer because each paintings compliment one another so well with colours that link to the next painting on. The entrance seems to focus on African culture and so vivid colours catch the eye whereas as you proceed through the exhibition the paintings become focused mainly on Buddhism and ancient Chinese art and so the colours are much more toned down using a washed out colour palette. After seeing this exhibition it has inspired me to use space wisely and ensure each piece of artwork has its own space as so the exhibition does not become seemingly cluttered.

 

3 Drawing Rooms

The exhibition by British artist David Tremlet took place in the second floor galleries. This is a site specific piece drawn by the artist and his assistants over a several weeks using pastel pigment. Tremlet is well known for his site specific work and regularly travels the world alone in order for influence and inspiration. His exhibition in the Ikon uses different compositions in each room, vertical, horizontal and large blocks, this along with the vivid colours used alters the viewers perception of the gallery space. 

The first room focuses on a vertical composition with strong vivid colours of blue and red juxtaposed against the more earthly neutral tones. This room is inspired by Tremletts visit to Japan in 2011 and his focus on the sky high city buildings which is portrayed in the variety of shape and height. This room has a strong impact upon the viewer when you enter the room due to the height and imposing colour and design.

This second room is a strong contrast against the first as it focuses on two monotone colours in large blocks. The black area has been created using black graphite grease, a residue from motor vehicles engines. This room largely differs from the two other brighter rooms and Tremlett describes it as 'a transitional space'.

This is the third and final room of the exhibition. It is the largest are of space and this is perhaps emphasized by the horizontal stripes of colour. This room is entitled Pileup and is a recreated design that is project at a Russian business studies institute. This piece use earthly tones which compliment one another alongside the other monotones. 

 This exhibition brings together concepts of the importance of space and how it is presented through colour and design. It also makes the viewer appreciate the architecture of the building as it draws attention to the design through composition. I think it would be interesting to use colour on the wall in a simple pattern or design and then use the floor space to exhibit the pieces we wish to use.